BitMEX Launches Options Trading, Aims to Rival Deribit’s Market Share

BitMEX Launches Options Trading, Aims to Rival Deribit's Market Share

The latest offering from BitMEX was developed in partnership with PowerTrade, a platform focused on crypto options. This addition is designed to help traders capitalize on market volatility, hedge against risks, and facilitate price discovery through straightforward and standard options.

In a separate move, BitMEX has increased the leverage for bitcoin perpetual swaps to 250x just before the bitcoin halving event, aiming to drive at least $500 million in trading volume over the next three months for its options product. This service is now accessible in all regions where BitMEX is operational.

“Crypto Options are an excellent choice for derivatives traders, particularly in a sideways market. As a prominent derivatives exchange, our goal is to equip BitMEX users with the best tools for maximizing their trading potential and strategies, whether it’s for hedging, positioning, or capitalizing on the recent spike in implied volatility,” explained Stephan Lutz, CEO of BitMEX.

The options platform at BitMEX features a range of institutional-grade options for various assets including bitcoin, ether, XRP, BNB, solana, and dogecoin, with plans for further expansion. This effort is bolstered by collaborations with digital asset market makers like iGreeks and DWF Labs to ensure deep liquidity and minimal slippage for its traders.

Mario Gomez Lozada, CEO of PowerTrade, also commented on the collaboration, stating, “The new BitMEX options platform combines PowerTrade’s focused options solutions with BitMEX’s extensive liquidity and unmatched reliability, offering traders seamless access to the highest-performing financial products.”

BitMEX is enhancing its platform to provide a user-friendly trading experience that includes an order book and a Request-for-Quote (RFQ) system. This system enables traders to carry out large single-leg or multi-leg options strategies without any minimum requirements, setting it apart from competitors who often do not support multi-leg strategies or impose minimum block sizes.

To draw users to this new feature, BitMEX has implemented a zero-fee policy for options trading throughout May and is offering a $20 onboarding bonus for the first 1,000 new options traders. Additional incentives include rewards based on trading volume and referrals, as well as monthly trading competitions.